New budget airline told to shut its sole airport

Britain's newest budget airline has been ordered to close its only terminal less than three weeks after flights began, raising the prospect of chaos for thousands of air passengers this summer.

Coventry airport has been served an enforcement notice and is facing High Court action after Warwick district council accused it of breaching planning rules by erecting a temporary terminal.

The legal move could force Thomsonfly, an offshoot of Thomson Holidays which began low-cost flights to 11 destinations on March 31, to ground its planes while a solution is sought. The company admitted yesterday that it had no contingency plans in place despite already selling 200,000 seats.

The row is the latest chapter of an increasingly acrimonious relationship between TUI, which owns the airport, and Warwick council.

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Impatient to begin flights for this year's summer holidays, TUI built a temporary terminal while awaiting planning permission on a larger, permanent one. That application has been in for a year with little sign of a conclusion. Warwick's planning department ruled that TUI had built the temporary terminal without its knowledge, was more than the permitted 500 sq m, and would have to be knocked down.

Enforcement notices are due to come into operation on May 17. The airport then has seven days to close the terminal and 28 days to demolish it. If it refuses, the council has said it will apply for a High Court injunction.

Bertie Mackay, a member of the planning committee and councillor for Stoneleigh, a village affected by the airport, said: "TUI and Thomsonfly were taking something of a risk by doing this sort of pre-emptive move before sorting out proper planning permission. All they had to do was take their time and make sure the right procedures were in place, but they haven't."

Gary Stevens, of the council's planning department, said: 'We asked TUI to stop work on the temporary terminal until they had planning consent. They ignored us and are operating flights from that development, so we have taken enforcement action.

"Because the airport has made it pretty clear it will operate regardless, the council resolved to seek an injunction in the High Court which will force them to stop using the development immediately."

With the expansion of nearby Birmingham airport and the success of Nottingham East Midlands airport, eyebrows were raised last year when Thomsonfly announced it was to join the budget market and fly out of Coventry.

The terminal has been described as a glorified shed. There is no rail link and road links in the immediate area are poor.

The company aims to sell 250,000 seats this year and hopes to expand to two million passengers per year. The introduction of passenger flights has caused uproar in the community, with concerns about noise pollution, traffic jams and the impact on wildlife.

Lia Border, a spokesman for the Campaign Against the Expansion of Coventry Airport, said: "Residents are very concerned about Thomsonfly; already the noise is horrendous and it will only get worse as the airport expands."

TUI said it was confident of winning any legal challenge and said that the facilities at the airport had been built after "full legal advice".

A spokesman said: "Coventry airport will be appealing against the notices. Meanwhile, Coventry airport customers and their passengers should rest assured that they have every intention of continuing to provide airport services as normal."